What About Us?
by mowgligli
Summary: Camp was chaos after Leo fired on the Romans. We went weeks without hearing anything from the seven campers onboard the Argo II, one of them your own siblings. And after a while, you start to wonder, mainly one thing in particular. What about us? I'm sorry for the horrible summary.


I hate being stressed. I hate how out of control I feel, like I could spontaneously combust at any given moment. Just say one wrong word and I'll explode, just like when you mix Diet Coke and mint Mentos together. I tend to get stressed out when my surroundings change dramatically and it usually takes me a few days to adjust.

So yeah, being a demigod has never really helped in that department.

But I've never really had that problem at camp, mainly because I view it like it's a vacation. I'm not a year round camper, as I only come during school breaks and summer. It literally drives a majority of my siblings, Chiron, and even my dad insane. I'm adamant that I go back to San Francisco during the school year to attend school and see my family and friends. I'm a "late bloomer" as Malcolm likes to put it, which means I came to camp when I was older than twelve. I was fourteen, almost fifteen, when I came to camp right before the battle of Kronos. Perfect timing on my part, right?

That was sarcasm.

Anyways, I had just arrived at camp for my third summer and everything was going just peachy. I was back at my bunk, carefully pinning a few photos from home to the wall. I loved my cabin. It always had that rich, slightly musty smell of old books that I loved and felt so inviting and comforting, much like a library. The bunks were pushed up against the walls, giving the common area of the cabin the perfect amount of room.

I felt slight pressure being applied to the sides of my stomach and smirked slightly. "You forgot I'm not ticklish."

"I didn't forget, I was just hoping that had changed," a familiar voice retorted. I rolled my eyes, then spun around on my heel to give Logan a huge bear hug. She also goes home during the school year and judging from her suitcases, she was planning on staying longer than usual this time.

"So, how'd freshman year go?" I asked, releasing her.

"It was really fun, actually. I got really good grades too," Logan beamed.

"I proud of ya," I replied, ruffling her light brown hair lightly. I really was. I knew Logan had a hard time in school, even with her inherited abilities. She was only a year younger than me, but she was a good seven or eight inches shorter than me.

Logan grinned before dropping her shoulder bag on her bunk and walking to the door. "C'mon, I think it's time for lunch. Everyone was headed to the pavilion when I arrived."

We both ran (raced) to the pavilion trying to ensure as much time to talk and catch up with our siblings that was possible. And if Logan tries to tell you differently, I won.

We were received with the usual hugs and excited questions that we usually get when we first arrive at camp. Despite the smiles on their faces, everyone seemed to be paranoid at camp, like they were all waiting for something to pounce out and attack them.

After conjuring up a grilled cheese sandwich on my plate, I stood up to go sacrifice part of my meal to the gods, per usual.

"Bridget?" Malcolm asked suddenly.

"Yes?" I replied, raising an eyebrow at my brother. Malcolm looked exactly like a child of Athena should look. He had close cropped platinum blond hair, dull

gray eyes, and a tan, athletic body. In other words, he looked like a stereotypical surfer boy. I, on the other hand, only looked resembled my mother with my bright gray eyes and my body type/bone structure. I had long, wavy strawberry blond hair, fair skin that barely tanned, and a smattering of freckles across my nose, all from my dad.

"You think you can show Ari the ropes? It's her first day," he explained, placing his hand on the shoulder of a little blonde girl who couldn't have been more than eight years old. "Before you can ask, she's already been claimed."

He always knew what I was going to ask. Sometimes it was helpful, but usually it's just annoying as hell.

Malcolm gave Ari a little push towards my outstretched, making her stumble a bit before she grasped my hand and steadied herself.

Usually it's the first or second-in-commands job to show a new sibling around. Sierra and I both share the unofficial position as third-in-command, which means we become second if one of them is absent.

Annabeth was gone, probably off with Percy, so Malcolm was in charge. Which left all of his jobs for me. Technically, this was still his job but he just chose to pass it on to me on my first day back at camp.

God, you can just feel the love, right?

I led Ari to the brazier and demonstrated how to perform a sacrifice, then led her back to our table.

"I can show her around later, if you want," Aubrey offered, spearing a piece of pasta with her fork. It wasn't her job, but I was getting the feeling things weren't quite as they used to be.

"That'd be lovely," I said, sliding into my seat.

As I ate, laughed, and talked with my siblings, I couldn't help but notice how exhausted they all looked. I mean, I had noticed a majority of the other campers were a bit stressed, but they were much better off compared to my table.

Athena kids have this weird thing where we antagonize over a problem until we find the solution. And from the looks of it, that's exactly what's happening.

I paid more attention and realized Sierra and Aubrey both sported dark circles under their bright grey eyes, Cam's hair wasn't brushed (you could tell even though it was in a pony tail), and Malcolm looked like he was trying to decide whether or not his hamburger would make a nice pillow.

I elbowed Sierra lightly in the side. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "We're just trying to help out Annabeth. She's not handling the whole Percy returning thing very well. She's going a bit overboard on her conspiracies about the Romans."

What Percy thing? Conspiracy theories? Romans? I'm more confused than when my parents gave me "the talk" when I was nine.

"What happened to Percy?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

So that's chapter one! Please R&R! c:


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